New Delhi. The Asian Games 2026 is going to start from September 19 in Aichi Nagoya, Japan. This time India has prepared a team of 503 players who will represent the country in 35 sports. India had given its best performance in the last Asian Games and this time also Indian players are expected to win medals in many sports. Among these, athletics, shooting, wrestling, boxing and cricket are prominent.

Athletics has long been one of the major medal-winning sports for India at the Asian Games. As per available data, India has won a total of 283 medals from athletics in 19 editions of the Asian Games. These include 85 gold, 102 silver and 96 bronze medals. This time, despite the absence of Neeraj Chopra, there are many players in the Indian team who will be kept an eye on. Good performance is expected from Murali Srishankar, Gulveer Singh, Avinash Sable, Tajinderpal Singh, Parul Chaudhary, Rajesh Ramesh and Rohit Yadav.

Shooting will also be an important sport for India. In the history of the Asian Games, Indian shooters have so far won 80 medals, which include 16 gold, 30 silver and 34 bronze medals. Indian shooters had won 22 medals in the last Asian Games. This time, along with Manu Bhaker, players like Isha Singh, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, Ashi Chowksey and Suruchi will also be kept under watch.

Indian wrestlers will also strive for medals in wrestling. India has so far won 65 medals in this sport in the Asian Games. These include 11 gold, 15 silver and 39 bronze medals. Aman Sehrawat, Deepak Punia, Manisha and Sujit Kalkal are among the players who strengthened the Indian challenge. The Asian Games will be a big international platform for Indian wrestlers after wrestling was not included in the Commonwealth Games 2026.

India's hopes are strong in boxing also. After the performance of Indian boxers in the Commonwealth Games, expectations regarding the Asian Games have increased. In the women's category, Sakshi Chaudhary, Preeti Pawar and Lovlina Borgohain will be in focus. In the men's category, Jadumani Singh, Sachin Siwach Ankush and Narendra Berwal will present the Indian challenge.

This time cricket is also a part of the Asian Games and India's men's and women's teams will participate in it. Both Indian teams had won gold medals in the last Asian Games. The women's team will play its first match on September 18 while the men's team will start the campaign from September 28. In such a situation, India's performance in the Asian Games 2026 will especially depend on the performance of the players in these major sports.